News

Indonesian coal suppliers have increased their domestic coal production target by 4.5 percent from a previous 485 million tonnes to a massive 507 million tonnes in the current year. All the additional tonnage will be exported.

Commissioner Rebecca Dye will meet with interested parties in California and Florida in October.

Witnesses to appear before the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation include the Federal Railroad Administration administrator.

ATA chairman outline group’s legislative priorities for this year.

The GDP of the Atlanta metro area is the same as what country?

Action that will be taken includes advance manifests for goods from China arriving in Canada and being trucked across the U.S. border.

It’s happening: the SEC has charged Elon Musk with issuing materially false and misleading statements intended to manipulate the price of Tesla stock.

The US Department of Agriculture has issued a Class 1 recall on 130,000 pounds of ground beef nationwide, according to a news release from the agency. The E. coli contamination is thought to have originated from a Cargill Meat Solutions facility in Fort Morgan, Colorado.

Total trailer net orders came in at over 38,000 units in August, representative of a 31 percent increase month-over-month and a staggering 142 percent increase year-over-year.

Largest U.S. intermodal rail carrier sees uptick in domestic containers and trailers as trucking capacity remains tight.

Japan is preparing for a direct strike from Typhoon Trami. People and ports are paying attention.

Yesterday Uber settled a lawsuit with all 50 states and the District of Columbia, agreeing to pay $148M for covering up a 2016 breach of driver and passenger data.

The lawsuit asserts that water “poured in through a gap in city levees,” and it says the gap was created by a railway underpass owned by CSX.

Home Depot is Uberizing same and next-day last mile delivery with two startups backed by UPS. It’s part of Home Depot’s $1.2B investment to makes its supply chains faster and more efficient.

Volvo Trucks will introduce an all-electric truck in California next year before making them commercial available in North America in 2020, the company said.

Military members looking to become truck drivers may have an easier time in doing so as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has authorized states to waive the commercial learner’s permit (CLP) knowledge test and driving skills tests.

Trimble Transportation CTO Mark Botticelli has been tasked with integrating all of the transportation technology companies under the Trimble umbrella into a single cloud-based exchange.

Amazon 4-star will open to the public today in the SoHo neighborhood of New York.

Factory orders for durable goods rose in August, driven by a large increase in commercial aircraft orders. Orders historically are a leading indicator of future shipments, and August’s results suggest that freight demand on the durable side of the economy should remain solid.

Germany has spent $580 billion towards renewable energy infrastructure, but still would fall woefully short of its emissions reduction goals of 2020. Andreas Kuhlmann, chairman of German Energy Agency explains why.

The higher cost of domestic steel already is saddling car manufacturers with “hundreds of millions of dollars in new, unplanned cost.”

How good is the technology and powertrains on modern tractors? A group of journalists driving similarly spec’d Mack Anthem sleeper models, achieved over 8 mpg – even as high as 10.5 for one day – with the trucks on a three-day run from Asheville, NC, to New Orleans.

The state’s 25,000 port truck drivers “routinely face wage theft and illegal pay deductions while hauling goods for the world’s biggest brands,” the bill’s sponsor said.

China imposed a 25% import duty on US soybean imports in July and a domestic shortage of beans is now resulting in Chinese traders paying a higher price for Brazilian beans than what domestic crushers are paying, leading to speculation that China could again increase shipments from the US.

U.S. Wheat Associates did charge that practices in “clear violation” of a WTO agreement helped establish Turkey as the world’s leading flour exporter.

Investigation has determined that ransomware was involved in the “serious cybersecurity incident.”

FedEx, the giant US courier company, proactive adopter blockchain technology and BiTA member, has joined Linux hosted open-source project Hyperledger to further advance the use of distributed ledger in logistics, and transportation.

CEO retiring and COO moving up; aerospace logistics company filling newly created commercial role.

Traffic has returned to normal for parts of the Carolinas that flooded from Hurricane Florence, but some roads still remain closed as rivers crest.

Our latest infographic dissects the North American Air Freight Industry.

Today, the long-awaited final results are in.

There is plenty of evidence for increased capacity in the freight market. Volumes are higher than they were in March when the spot market was considered more volatile.

The two companies have reached a new milestone in their collaborative effort to create 150 women-owned businesses in transportation. The program announced that it had welcomed its 50th participant last week.

On September 22, 2018, Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 1402 into law in the state of California following a hard-fought battle surrounding labor liability in ports, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.

The investment bank issued a report this morning calling for one more spot rate peak in the fourth quarter, followed by a softer 2019 that should still be 12% above the 2012-7 cycle. New price targets were also issued.

Both new home sales and home starts showed some improvement in August, ending months of disappointing activity. Existing home sales failed to expand for the fifth straight month however, and housing in general remains a weak area for freight demand.

The long-anticipated Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill is up for a vote and it does not include the controversial meal-and-rest break provision that the American Trucking Associations (ATA) and other industry forces were seeking.

Iran’s truckers are on strike in 100 cities for the second time this year, causing fuel shortages. Meanwhile, the Iranian rial is rapidly losing its value, and the country’s biggest crude oil customers are cutting it off.

The report on online transportation platforms does not draw any conclusions about why it’s happening, but it has plenty of data to back up that it is occurring.

The conclusion to the Hazelwood trial is expected to be reached today in Chattanooga, TN.

Readers of the printed newspaper are on a decline. It is essential that distribution companies that cater to this audience adapt to change, and optimize their logistics processes to increase profits.

How can something so small be such a big deal? For two very significant reasons.

Project is designed to attract containers now drayed to off-dock rail yards.

The scrapping of sister passenger- and cargo-carrying vessels marked the end of an era.

The numbers look good but deteriorating service is tarnishing the traditional role of intermodal.

Ocean shipping rates below cost of capital have been boon to customers, bane to companies. But the equation may flip.

Appropriation of $30 million will help streamline processes, increase visibility and improve risk assessment.

Hewlett-Packard export compliance officer expects a lot of public comments on the control of technologies essential to national security.

This infographic looks at why 3PLs have grown in popularity over the years.

Rescue has shifted to recovery in areas affected by Hurricane Florence. But crews are still keeping an eye on localized flooding and high tides this week.

According to an open letter from Walmart to its leafy green suppliers, the company will forge ahead in blockchain development as part of the Food Trust as soon as early 2019.

Brent and WTI prices have reached 4 year highs, and the Brent-WTI spread continues to favor American oil exports on the international market. We explain how longer lateral lengths in Permian Basin horizontal wells are driving truckload demand.

The partnership will be a joint effort in discovering the next generation of connected car capabilities for businesses of any size.

FreightWaves adds additional functionality to SONAR with tri-delta functionality on the Headhaul Index as well as the newly revised Trucks in Market, making it easier than ever to identify market disruptions.

Walmart brought blockchain technology to the forefront now three times.

Cashflow Corner presented by TriumphPay …A creature from the Black Lagoon, George Washington’s desk, and a 10-foot gold-plated harp are just a few of the odd things hauled by truck drivers, according to the 2018 King of the Road survey from Atlas Van Lines.

XPO already has an extensive tuition-free training program in-house. This move expands it out the front door.

Bernd Heid from McKinsey elaborated on the future of mobility, drawing instances of disruptions in the transportation industry and the need for adapting business models to market and regulatory requirements.

R2 Logistics, Inc., a customer-focused third-party logistics (3PL) service provider, is the latest member of the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA).

“Importers are getting hurt” by duties meant to punish China.

The scenario laid out by a leading energy economist is that the market needs a way to soften the blow of higher oil prices that would be spurred by the new environment rule.

CB Insights says while there has been a drop-off in funding this year, supply chain innovation is becoming a greater concern for businesses around the world.

A prolonged bear market for crude oil tankers have resulted in the deletion of triple the number of ships sold for scrap, compared to last year.

Nasdaq listed technology firm Ideanomics (NASDAQ:SSC) has formed a joint venture with APMEN Trade Tech Co Ltd., to streamline ports in the Asia Pacific by using blockchain and artificial intelligence in the Port of Shanghai, currently the world’s busiest port.

Maersk, MSC and CMA CGM are implementing fees they say will help cover costs to reduce sulphur emissions; the IMO announces it will not push back the deadline.

Icelandic cargo shipping firm names interim managing director of U.S. operations; American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials taps next executive director.

Ocean carriers guiding expectations on rates as one of the biggest changes to shipping set to hit in 2020.

Port aims for new on-dock rail facility to handle increased container throughput and meet clean-air goals.

A total of 67,502 inspections took place in 2018.

Prologis is making further investments in the communities it has developed by launching an internship program for high schoolers from under-served areas to enter the logistics industry.

10 days after Hurricane Florence made landfall near Wilmington, much of the North Carolina coast is still flooded. Waters are forecast to gradually recede over the course of this week and into the weekend.

The service can search shipments for drivers beforehand to help ensure their trips are consistently profitable. The service puts in the work so drivers don’t have to.

Adrian Gonzalez, President of Adelante SCM explained that in order to compete in the ever-changing logistics environment, the best thing companies can do is define their own competitive weapon.

$200B of tariffs imposed on Chinese imports today; the 4PL era is here; China cancels further trade talks; Germany’s maritime fleet shrinks by 1/3; air cargo not yet feeling tariff pain; oil rallies.

The Carrier Relationship Platform uses data to organize and automate a company’s processes with a unique approach: delivering targeting engagements to strengthen relationships.

The two Koreas consider historic trade agreements in the middle of ‘Autumn Eve’, their peak shipping season.

Three-judge panel could pave the way for the American Institute of International Steel’s appeal to go before the Supreme Court.

Leaders from state departments of transportation across the country participated in a panel discussion about connected and automated vehicles, and the winding road to their ubiquitous adoption.

The rapid growth in LNG imports to China, Japan and Korea is driving the cost of transportation higher, with Atlantic cargoes bound for Asia approaching $100,000 per day for Large LNG carriers, up from $30,000 per day a year ago.

Corporate and industrial borrowing in China in the third quarter of 2018 surged to the highest level since 2013, just as the US Administration gets ready to impose the largest round of trade tariffs so far, targeting $200 billion worth of goods. A progressively weakening economy likely means a return to old school stimulus in fixed asset investments. .

Maersk, CMA CGM and MSC announce fees to cover costs of meeting low-sulphur deadline.

Food distribution stands as one of the toughest jobs in a tough industry as job demands both driving skills and physical labor.

Hurricane Florence has practically shutdown any outbound trucking activity out of the North Carolina coastal market

It also marks the sixth time in eight months NA Class 8 net orders topped 40,000 units, according to ACT Research.

The 53-foot restaurant on wheels not only provides nourishment for those who may be running low on supplies, it also provides the comfort of a hot breakfast to local residents, first responders and volunteers.

There are approximately 600 rails spanning 140,000 miles in the United States. We take a look at this massive industry in our latest infographic.

In September 2017, IKEA Group was one of the first to join EV100—a global initiative created by The Climate Group—and now, a year later, IKEA Group has announced their commitment to moving toward zero emissions deliveries in 5 major cities by 2020.

We see falling demand for oil, lumber, and wheat out of Canada in the future due to a combination of market forces. Canadian Pacific Railroad appears to be especially exposed to this freight recession.

Japan’s third largest shipping company looks at all methods for compliance; MSC to add scrubbers on about one-tenth of fleet.

The smartest minds on Wall Street use charting analytics to quickly identify and then track trends in multiple data sets. Why? Because it works. And now freight professionals are learning how to do the same. 

The soft drink giant is reportedly in “serious talks” of launching beverages with Aurora Cannabis.

FreightWaves Associate Editor John Paul Hampstead spoke to Andrew Davis, VP and Equity Investment Analyst at T. Rowe Price about the deal.

A surge in hydro-power, cleaner air in the Capital and a need to further stimulate the economy will see increased demand for seaborne coal supplies to China this winter. That is good news for freight.

BiTA participated in the Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH) 2018.

The vessel gave asylum to 113 refugees when it was en route from Malta to Libya in June.

ZF, the German automaker has released innovative trucks that can load and unload at the warehouse and last-mile electric delivery vans with level 4 autonomy.

We spoke to T Rowe Price VP Andrew Davis about how traditional investors’ view of the digital brokerage had changed over time.

Some railroads are spending more than 20 percent of revenues on capital improvements to meet the growing demand for intermodal services.

J.D. Power is forecasting more new truck deliveries in the coming months, but demand is still expected to outpace supply into the second quarter of 2019.